By Celani Sikhakhane
Tony Dube’s request for his body to cremated, caused a family battle at his funeral.
Th announcement was made by his lawyer that Dube, a former right-hand man to the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, wanted his body to be cremated and the ashes kept at the Anglican Church in Nquthu.
Dube died on Tuesday last week and his funeral service took place on Friday at the St Margaret Anglican Church in Mafihleng in Nquthu.
But when his eldest daughter Makutu read a letter from her father’s lawyer, specifying Dube’s wish to be cremated, family members objected.
“We were shocked because in this family no one has even been cremated,” said a source in the family. “This is totally against our Zulu culture. We were wondering what kind of ancestor umkhulu would become if he ended up being cremated.”
Family members decided to take his body back to the mortuary instead of the crematorium in Ladysmith.
Then, the source revealed, Dube’s estranged wife, who is the mother of seven of his children, took the body to her home in Bergville to organise another funeral.
“After a backlash against his wishes, he was then buried on Tuesday at a decent funeral service that took place in Bergville,” the family source revealed.
Dube was a prominent businessman in Nquthu with a filling station called kwaTony, a cattle farm, a B&B and several other businesses.
Pictured above: The coffin of Tony Dube was returned to his home in Nquthu on Friday after his family refused to cremate his body.
Image source: Supplied
